Gear-wheel.



G. B. OWEN.

GEAR WHEEL.

APPLICATION FILED 13130.14, 1912.

1,080,1 60. Patented Dec. 2, 1913.

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GrEORGrEB. OWEN, OFWINSTEIL ONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR T0 WM. L.`('JrIIzBEIBJI CLOCK- COMPANY,OF WINSTED, CONNECTICUT, CORPRATIONOFCONNECTICUT.

GEAR-WHEEL- l Specicatin of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec; a, 1era.

Application filed December 145, 19-1`2. Seria1'No.\736,768.

To all whom it may concern: Be it known that I,-.GEORGEB. CWEN,

a citizen of the United States, residing atl lVinsted, Litchfield.county, State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements mGear-W heels, of which4 thefollowing is a full, clear, andexact :de-v scription.

The present .invention relates totoothedgearing and is especiallydesigned to provide a gearing of this type which .will obvlate back lashand willtake up the space fbetween its `teeth and-those=of anintermeshing gear. Such a constructionisdesirable generally andof'general use, and is especially desirable andhas. proven etl'ectiveinl land resilient, connecting means being provided between adjacentsections. Such a structure is effective in taking up the space betweenteeth when intermeshed with those of `a coperating gear. These and otheradvantages will be apparent from the fol-- lowingdetailed specicationtaken in connection with the 'accompanying drawings forming part thereofvand illust-rating a preferable embodiment 'of' my invention as appliedto the gear train of a clock mechanism.- z v In these drawings, .Figure1 is a fragmentary view in front elevation of aclock frame showing agear train operating the hands ofy a clock, said train 'embodying a gearconstructed in accordance with the present invention. Fig. 2 is a detailon an enlarged scale and in front and edgey elevation, of my improvedform of gear, detached. Fig. 3 is a view in front and edge elevation ofone section of the gear, detached. Fig. 4 is a detail in front and edgeelevation of the other and cooperating section, likewise detached. Fig.5 is a detail of the gear spring. Fig. 6 is a fragmentary view on anenlarged scale of the teeth of the drawing. It will be obvioustherefore, that sectional gear. Fig. 7 is asimilar view showingsuchgearA teeth intermeshing with those of another gear.v4

Referringto the drawings'by numerals, 1 I indicates the front plate :ofa'clock trame, and 2 .and 3 the 'minute and hour hands, respectively,ofthe clock.

4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 designate cooperating `gear elements forming the geartrain for the clock hands, t-he arrangement being purelyjcon ventional.The gear 4, in the prsent illustrat-ion, 1s connected with the minutehand, while the gear- 5 isv connected with thel hourhand. In the case ofclocks and other regu-- lators, back lash on-f the part of the gearingnoticeably interferes with the accurate lindication bythe regulatorandmy'irn-proved 70 for-m of gear is of particular lutility when l. used-in such a connection. The gear t inthepresent instance, is constructedinV accord-- ance with=my invention-andcomprises com\ plemental circulartoothed sections 9 and 10, 75 the section 10 being provided with anannular recess 11` and witli'a Vcentral hub pori' tion 1 2 reduced indiameter at its end as at 13. The coperating section 9 is provided withan annular recess 14 corresponding to the recess 11 of the coperatinggear section, and with a central aperture 15 designed to it over thereduced end 13 'of t-he hub of the first section of the gear, so as topermit relative movement between the two gear sections. The section 9 ispreferably mounted on the hub 13 of section 10, and therefore in 4axialalinement therewith, and with .its inner recessed face 14 restingagainst the hub portion 12 of said section. A coiled spring 16 is seatedwithin the cooperating recesses 14 and 11 ot the two sections of thegear, the

ends of the spring being bent transversel and being inserted inapertures 17 in eac of the gear sections, this spring being tensioned toposition the teeth of one gear section so as to overlap slightly theteeth of the adjacent and cooperating gear section, as indicated mostclearly in Figs. 6 and 7 of the when 'a gear constructed as described,intermeshes with another gear of the usual type, its teeth will engagebetween adjacent teeth of a cooperating gear, and will be heldthereagainst under the tension of the coil spring which acts to take upthe space between the teeth when engaged, thereby preventing back lash,and insuring the smooth and steady revolution of the parts controlled bysaid gearing.

I have shown and described my improved form of gear as applied andconnected with a clock mechanism, but it is, of course, obvious that itsuse is not confined to'this art alone, and also that the details ofconstruction may be modified within the spirit ofthe invention and thescope of the appended claims.

What I claim is:

l. A gear comprising a plurality of lcomplemental toothed sectionsmounted in axial alinement and for relative movement and each havingtheir adjacent faces provided with axially alined annular recessesforming' a housing, a spring seated in said housing interconnecting saidsections and normally tending to exert a strain on said sections inopposite directions, said spring extending around the axis of said gear.

' 2. A gear comprising two complemental toothed sections mounted inaxial alinement and for relative movement, one of said sections beingprovided with a hub, and each of said sections having theiradiacentfaces `formed with annular recesses therein -providinga'housing, and a coiled spring seated within said housing andinterconnecting said y sections and normally tending to exert a strainon said sections 1n opposlte directions,

said spring extending around the axis of said gear. i

3. As an article of manufacture, a'gear. for regulators comprising two"complemental toothed sections, one of said sections bein provided with ahub and the other of sai sections being rotatably mounted thereon, theadjacent faces of each of said sections being formed with axially4alined annular recesses forming a housing, and a coiled spring seatedwithin said housing interconnecting said sections and normally tendingto exert a', strain on said sections in opposite directions, said springextending around the axis oflsaid gear.

4. In an article of manufacture, a gear comprising two complementaltoothed sections connected-together concentrically but capable oflimited independent rotation, an annular recess in the face of one ofsaid toothed sections, said recess facing the other toothed section andforming therewith a housing, a coiled spring arranged in 'said housing,the coil of said spring lying within the plane of said housing, and oneend' of said spring being anchored to one of saidA sections andthe otherend thereof being anchored to the other of said sections.

GEORGE E. owEN.

Witnesses HARVEY L. SLAUsoN,

FREDERICK E. BLENKER..

